Anatomy of Deception
by luv2write89
Summary: Annie and Rich are dating which Jeff immediately dislikes, causing him to face his feelings about her as he enlists the help of Shirley and Britta to break them up. Troy and Abed discover Pierce is lying about his injury and decide to teach him a lesson
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, so this is my first community fanfic, just got into the show so I hope the characters don't sound ooc! Please read, review and I'll keep updating as soon as I can! **

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Monday morning . . .

Jeff strolled into the library with his anthropology books tucked under his right arm, coffee cup in his left hand as he headed towards the study room. He was running late as usual and as he neared the room he saw that almost everyone in the group was gathered inside, with one person missing. A small frown grew across his face as he looked towards the vacant seat. Towards Annie's vacant seat.

It wasn't like her to be late, in fact he didn't even know she could be. It just wasn't an Annie Edison thing to do. She came prepared for everything. She had routines that she was very adamant about following, clinging to them with a persistence and stubbornness that he'd never quite seen before. Just last week after everyone had left he'd caught a glimpse of a color coded map sticking out of her backpack and curiosity had gotten the better of him, quickly snatching it before she could close her bag.

_ "What do we have here?" He asked as he stood up quickly, Annie's eyes widening as she had a slightly panicked expression on her face._

_ "Jeff, I need that!" She said as she lunged towards him, grabbing for the map as he just held it up out of her reach, an amused smile on his face._

_ "Je-eff!" She complained as she grabbed his arm right arm, trying to tug it down to get the map but it was providing to be useless and she let go with a huff of indignation._

_ "Annie, what is this?" Jeff asked her as he unfolded the map and seeing. . well, he wasn't sure what he was seeing as there were coloured lines leaping across the map._

_ "It's a map Jeff." She stated crossly as he looked down at her, smirking._

_ "That's for the clarification." He said as he laid it down on the table._

_ "What I meant was what are these lines? Did you color code a map?" He asked as he turned his head to look at her, seeing her flush slightly._

_ "As a matter of fact I did." She huffed, pointing her finger at a purple line._

_ "They're travel routes in case the bus I take to school is delayed or doesn't come on time. This takes into account traffic, construction. . .anything that could delay the bus from taking the normal route." Annie said as Jeff pointed to a green line._

_ "What's this one for?" He asked as he saw her turn slightly red._

_ "In case that. . ." She pointed to the purple route._

_ ". . .route is somehow detoured or unavailable." She managed to say._

_ "A backup route for your backup route. Wow." Jeff said as she swatted his chest with her hand._

_ "Make fun of me all you want but it makes sure I get to school on time. I like to come prepared." She protested._

_ "I can see that." Jeff replied unable to keep a smirk off his face as he watched her change from defensive to defiant._

_ "Yeah well maybe you should borrow it sometime seeing as you're always late." She challenged._

_ "Uh . . . .pass. It's called making an entrance." Jeff replied as she rolled her eyes._

_ "It's called being tardy and. . ." She began._

_ "Careful, Pierce might hear you say that word and think you're being offensive to Abed." Jeff said as Annie couldn't help but let out a laugh, taking the map back from Jeff as she placed it in her backpack._

_ "I still can't believe no one's explained to him what that word means yet." She said as she slung her backpack over her shoulders, Jeff opening the study room door for her as they two of them walked into the library._

_ "It's more amusing this way and we get to see Pierce make a fool of himself. It's a win-win." Jeff explained as she slapped his arm lightly._

_ "Jeff." She scolded but he could see she was holding back a smile, the two of them walking out the library doors as they headed to class. . ._

Jeff quickly snapped out of the memory as he continued towards the study room, reaching for the door. He was probably overreacting. Wherever Annie was he was sure she was fine. Maybe Shirley or Britta knew why she wasn't here, he'd just ask them when he got inside.

Shifting his coffee from his left hand to his right, Jeff opened the door and stepped inside, immediately switching the coffee back over to his left hand.

He walked over to the table and set his books and coffee down on it, pulling out his chair and sitting down as he put on a small smile.

"Morning." He greeted everyone as he looked around the table, the smile slowly fading. They were all just staring at him and it was making him feel uncomfortable.

Shirley was looking at him with disapproval, Pierce was grinning at him, Troy and Abed had curious looks on their faces and Britta was scowling deeply at him.

"Did I miss something?" He asked warily.

"Late again huh Jeffery? Someone have a late night last night?" Pierce asked, giving him a knowing smile.

He wished it was what Pierce was thinking but sadly, he'd spent all last night watching television. That was what his life consisted of now. Apparently women didn't like a guy who had no job, no car, no money and a crummy apartment. So last night he'd spent it watching stupid Grey's Anatomy. Abed had gotten him hooked on it a few few weeks ago but it would be a cold day in hell before he ever admitted that to Pierce. There would be no end to the gay jokes and so he decided it would be best to humour the old man. This way his pride and reputation would be kept intact and Pierce could feel free to think whatever he wanted to.

"As a matter of fact I did." Jeff said a small smirk on his face as he took a sip of coffee. As soon as the words were out of his mouth the room erupted in a flurry of activity.

"Aha! I knew it!" Pierce shouted as everyone else let out shocked gasps, the only one not looking taken aback being Abed.

"What? Is it really that surprising to everyone?" Jeff said, not really understanding why they were all having this reaction.

"Atta boy Jeffery, way to go." Pierce said proudly.

"Jeffery I am very disappointed in you, taking advantage of that sweet, innocent girl. Shame on you." Shirley scolded him as Jeff immediately sat up straighter in his chair.

What the hell were they talking about? Who was he taking advantage of?

"Didn't see that coming." Troy breathed as he looked across at Jeff with a mixture of respect and awe.

"I did. This season has been lacking in terms of any good solid romantic drama and it seems reasonable for it to emerge now. The two of them have been skirting around this issue for a while now, any longer and it would have started to make the audience angry. This changes everything, now their relationship is turning into a basic plot from a romance movie where the bad boy is changed by the good girl, eventually falling in love with her, like in a Walk to Remember." Abed said as Jeff began to feel alarmed.

They weren't all thinking he'd been with. . .they couldn't be thinking he'd been with . . .

"I'm still mad at you for making me watch that movie. I bawled like a _baby. _It was just so . . .powerful." Troy said as he held up a hand to his mouth, overwhelmed by emotion.

". . .so gay." Jeff heard Pierce mutter under his breath.

"Guys, not the main issue here! Seriously Jeff? You go and do something like this? There are so many things wrong with this that I don't even know where to being! Oh wait, yes I do. She's _thirteen _years younger than you and is still a teenager for god's sakes! You shouldn't be messing around with her Jeff, you know how Annie. . ." Britta began as Jeff's eyes widened fully and he immediately leaped to his feet.

"What? No, NO! I was not with Annie last night! Is that what you thought I meant by a late night last night? That I was with Annie?" Jeff sputtered to Pierce, who just shrugged his shoulders at him.

"Made sense to me. You already banged blondie here and made out with big boobs twice. Seemed with the two of you being late that you'd finally taken my advice. You know. . ." Pierce began as he shifted in his wheelchair.

". . .I'm disappointed in you Jeffery, you of all people being unable to seal the deal. Britters here was a lot easier wasn't she?" Pierce said sympathetically.

"Excuse me?" Britta said in disbelief as she stood up, slamming her hands down on the table as she glared angrily at Pierce, eyes blazing with fury.

"So outta line." Troy added.

"Oh that is such a relief, I was so worried! Britta is right you are far too old for that girl Jeffery and she doesn't need you corrupting her with your loose values and morals and whatnot. No offence." Shirley added hastily as Jeff still felt slightly offended.

"I. . .why would you guys even think we were together?" Jeff managed to say.

"It does make a lot of sense Jeff. The two of you have been skirting around this will they won't they for a long time now, it's just that there's been other love interests that have distracted the two of you from seeing each other. It looked like things were going to significantly pick up for the two of you from the first season to the second season but you killed it almost right away by pushing Annie away although the audience never really seemed to understand why. It's starting to make a lot more sense now however. You were too insecure and afraid to admit your feelings for Annie because you didn't want to hurt her like you kept doing to all the other women in your life. Annie's different . . . special somehow. Maybe because she's the one who pushes you to be a better person and she cares enough about you to do that, to push you to be better because she believes you can be. She's helped to show you that there's more to life than just looking out for yourself and is the biggest reason behind your character change over the past two years. She made you care Jeff and she made you care about her. With your being late and her being late it made sense to think you two had finally gotten over all the obstacles, seeing as you're the only one she'd probably make an exception for being late for." Abed said, a silence filling the room.

"Holy crap Abed." Britta managed to say.

"What a bunch of bull . . ." Pierce scoffed.

"Jeffery, is what Abed said true? Do you have feelings for Annie?" Shirley asked him, her eyes wide as they all turned to look at him, Jeff unsure of what to say. Did he have feelings for Annie?


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, won't be able to update for a while, I am really swamped with school but I'll update as soon as I can. Reviews are always welcome.**

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_Did he have feelings for Annie?_

That was a question he'd be avoiding ever since the end of summer after the whole tranny dance incident. He'd ignored everything that had happened between the two of them because it was easier than admitting the truth.

That somewhere along the way he'd come to develop feelings for Annie.

It wasn't supposed to be this way. It was supposed to be either Britta or Slater not Annie. Those were the two women he'd been caught between, the two women he was supposed to have feelings for and to have made a decision about that night. Annie shouldn't have even been on his mind that night but when she'd pulled him aside to tell him she was going away with Vaughn and not coming back he hadn't been able to think about anything else.

He'd felt a mix of emotions, but mostly an overwhelming sense of anger. Vaughn had no right to take Annie away from them . . .from him. He'd grown use to her being there for him, scolding him whenever he did something wrong and constantly pushing him to be better. As much as she irritated and annoyed him sometimes he liked having someone to fight with about the decisions he made.

He couldn't talk about anything with either Britta or Slater, they just didn't get it. . .get him as much as Annie did. It was just different with her than with them. With Slater it had pretty much been about sex which had been great at first but then something weird had happened. He'd actually wanted . . .more. To talk like he talked with Annie but the second he'd tried to she'd broken up with him and with Britta, they fought so much they never really talked about anything. Things were just so much easier with Annie, he couldn't explain it. It was like he didn't want to ever let her down or hurt her, like it was impossible for her to do.

He blamed it on those damn bambi eyes of hers. He caved in every time when she stared at him with those wide eyes, a pleading look in them and it unnerved him. He never, ever let anyone do that to him, get to him like that. He was the one who changed people's minds, could talk them out of doing anything but Annie was the only person he knew who could make him do anything and the thing was. . .he didn't mind. So when Vaughn was taking her away and Britta and Slater professed their love for him he just . . .he couldn't take in everything so he'd done what he always did when things got hard or when he felt overwhelmed. He walked away.

When he saw Annie outside he'd felt so incredibly relieved, glad that she hadn't run off with the stupid hippie and again, he had someone he could talk to about what had happened with Britta and Slater and they had but then it had escalated, turned into something more. One minute they were talking and the next thing he knew Annie was kissing him and he was kissing her back just as eagerly. She was the last person he'd though he'd end up kissing that night but it had been amazing and he forgot about everything and just focused on her.

Unfortunately reality came crashing back down around them after a few minutes as they both pulled away, Annie quickly stammering out an excuse as to why she had to leave and then fled, leaving him standing there as he tried to wrap his head around what had happened. In that moment he realized he didn't want Britta or Slater, he wanted Annie but he couldn't. . .it wasn't right and he couldn't involve himself with her. She deserved a hell of a lot better than him and so he'd acted like nothing had happened between them, ignoring her for most of the summer until she'd asked to meet to talk about it and he'd had to agree but he'd had to do the worst possible think he could think of to keep anything from developing between the two of them. Crushing her by saying it meant nothing and their kissing had been a mistake. He knew it had hurt her deeply but he just figure if he stopped things here it would be a lot less painful than later on down the road. He hurt people around him that was what he did but he'd be damned if he let that happen with Annie.

But everything Abed had said was right. . .he did have feelings for her but he couldn't admit it. This was something he'd just have to get over and besides, telling the group would be a huge mistake. They'd almost all been ready to kill him a few minutes ago, he couldn't imagine things going over any better if he said he actually cared for her. Pierce would never let him hear the end of it, Shirley would just keep scolding him and telling him how he'd disappointed her and what he was doing was inappropriate and Britta would be all over him with her righteous indignation while Abed would keep comparing them to every TV couple under the sun. Troy would probably be the only one in the group who wouldn't care because he'd be too confused as to what was going on and so Jeff kicked his feet up onto the table, looking around at everyone as he gave them his patented smirk.

"I don't know what Abed has been reading into between me and Annie but there is nothing going on at all between us okay? I like her _as a friend. _A really good friend and _that is all._ Strictly platonic and nothing more, sorry to disappoint everyone. There's a better chance of Shirley saying yes to going on a date with Pierce then for me and Annie to become involved." Jeff finished.

"Well then. . ." Pierce began as he turned to look at Shirley, a grin on his face.

"What Jeffery meant was there is no chance in hell." Shirley replied firmly, narrowing her eyes at Pierce as he shrugged his shoulders.

"You're loss." He said.

"Seriously doubt that." Troy muttered, Britta smiling to herself as Jeff looked at Pierce.

"Something tells me that Pierce was the one who started the issue of me and Annie being together." Jeff said.

"He did go there right away." Troy admitted as Pierce looked at him.

"Way to rat me out. Pff, can't trust you people with anything. Look Jeffery. . ." Pierce began as Shirley and Troy both looked extremely angry.

"Anyone else finding Pierce to be even more insensitive than usual today? Anyone?" Britta interrupted as Pierce just continued on.

". . .we had a lot to go on. I just thought you had finally taken my advice to. . ." Pierce continued as Jeff removed his feet from the table and slammed his hands down on the table hard.

"If you say pork her and move on I swear to god I will walk over to you and beat you with your casts." Jeff growled as Pierce decided to shut up.

"Finally." Britta said, letting out a breath of relief.

"Jeffery, we are sorry for assuming you and Annie were. . .together and we apologize for accusing you." Shirley said in an apologetic tone.

"Thank you." Jeff replied, leaning back in his chair.

"So if Annie's not with Jeff where is she then?" Troy asked curiously.

"Well seeing as she'd never be late except for Jeff convincing her to be the only other conclusion is some extreme circumstance has come up to prevent her from being here." Abed replied.

"Ooh I don't like the sound of that." Shirley said in concern, an anxious look on her face.

"Look Annie's a big girl. Wherever she is I'm sure she's fine but I'll send her a text to see where she is." Britta said as she pulled out her cell phone.

Shirley shoot an anxious look towards the study room doors, doing a double take as her eyes widened in surprise.

"Britta, I don't think you have to do that anymore, look!" She said, excitement in her voice as Britta looked to her left.

"Well, well, well. . ." She said, a smile on her face as she leaned back in her chair, folding her arms across her chest.

"Ooh tough luck Jeffery. Should have jumped on that while you had the chance." Pierce said, grimacing slightly.

"I didn't see that coming either. Why am I so outta the loop?" Troy complained.

"This was inevitable, but it's a good thing Jeff doesn't like Annie otherwise things would get complicated and messy and would turn into a rom com where the male lead competes for the female lead against another male antagonist. The only good thing is that the audience usually hates the antagonist and roots for the male lead to end up with the girl. Like in Leap Year or Made of Honour." Abed stated.

"What are you talking about Abed? What is everyone. . ." Jeff began as he turned around in his seat to see what they were all looking at, immediately wishing he hadn't.

Annie was standing a few feet away outside of the study room along with stupid Rich from pottery class. His hands were on her waist as hers were around his neck, the two of them kissing as Annie was standing on her tip toes to reach him.

Jeff immediately felt his stomach clench up as he turned away from the sight, anger beginning to build quickly. Rich? Of all the guy at this stupid school she just had to go and pick the one he absolutely hated? She kept dating these losers and idiots and it was really starting to piss him off.

"Looks like Annie likes to play nurse to the doctor." Pierce commented as Troy snorted in laughter, Britta smirking as well, Pierce looking pleased with himself for finally making them laugh.

"I think it's nice." Shirley said brightly.

"What do you think Jeff?" Abed asked in curiosity as everyone turned to look at him.

"Can we stop doing that? Analyzing every move I make? I'm fine with it." Jeff snapped.

"Seems pretty pissed to me." Troy commented as Jeff clenched his fists tightly.

"I think it's just because he hates Rich so much." Britta said.

"But they're practically the. . ." Pierce began as Shirley shook her head at him.

"Mm mh!" She said, shooting him a warning look.

". . .the same." Pierce finished as everyone groaned, Jeff standing up, his face going red.

"Should the vein in his neck be sticking out like that?" Troy asked.

"We are _not_ the same. The guy is a pretencious windbag and uses his stupid charm and good looks to win people over. He's an arrogant bastard and I don't trust him." Jeff said through clenched teeth.

"Gee, sound like anyone we know?" Britta said dryly, a smirk on her face as Jeff shot a sideways glare at her.

"Sounds like jealousy to me." Pierce said, raising his eyebrows.

"I am not jealous! Do I wish Annie would date someone other than doctor douche. . ." Jeff began as Pierce and Troy looked at each other, both of them grinning.

"Doctor douche. . ." Pierce said as Troy laughed.

". . .yes but Annie is fully capable of making her own decisions and doesn't need any of us to say otherwise. She wants to date him then she can date him, it's her life. We learned from meddling last time that it's better to leave things alone." Jeff said, feeling his whole body tense up as he hated every single word he was saying. All he wanted to do was go out there and punch Rich right in the face.

"Wow Jeff, color me impressed. I really thought you'd be more upset with this, seeing as you can't stand the guy." Britta said as Jeff took his seat, letting out a deep breath as he smiled tightly at her.

"Nope, I'm fine with it." He said as the door opened seconds later, Annie rushing inside quickly as she took her seat, looking slightly flustered.

"I'm sorry I'm late, it won't happen again." She promised as she neatly arraigned her books in front of her.

"Oh don't worry about it sweetie! Now tell us all about the cute doctor man." Shirley demanded as Annie turned to look at her, practically beaming.

"Okay well we'd been talking a lot ever since the Halloween party and when we were talking he mentioned the fact he volunteers his Saturday's at a free health clinic. Anyways he invited me to come along and I did and now we volunteer there together. We just really connected and he asked me out last week." Annie said as Britta and Shirley were smiling at her.

"Annie! That's great." Britta said enthusiastically.

"I know, I'm really happy. Rich is an amazing guy, he's handsome and nice and so incredibly brave. He's saved so many lives. . ." Anne said dreamily as Jeff felt his anger building again, a scowl on his face as he opened his text book, staring down at the content as he tried to block out the sound of her gushing about Rich.

"What's this? Jeff Winger actually studying without being prompted to? Abed's right isn't he? You're jealous of the doctor." Britta said in a low voice as he looked over at her, seeing a smug look on her face.

"No, I'm not." Jeff snapped at her as she raised an eyebrow, clearly not buying it.

"I'm not. Whatever, look we can we just please get back to studying? You wanna talk boy talk do it later on your own time okay? The rest of us would rather not hear about it." Jeff said as he looked at Annie, who flinched slightly at his words.

"Jeffery, that's not very nice." Shirley scolded him.

"Shirley's right, you are acting more irritable than is usual." Abed commented as Jeff whipped his head around to look at him.

"Enough Abed, okay? We all get that you cannot connect to real people and so you use television and movie references to do it. Well guess what it's a shtick. . ." He said, using air quotes for the word shtick.

". . .that's getting old really fast and is getting really annoying. Can you not just be normal for once in your life and go two seconds without pulling out some stupid reference? Please, just try it or get some help." Jeff snapped.

"Jeff!" Annie said sharply.

"And I thought I was the insensitive one in the group." Pierce added as an uncomfortable silence filled the room, everyone opening their books as they all started to study.


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's the next chapter, a little short but more to come soon. Reviews are appreciated!**

An hour later. . .

Jeff felt his irritation and anger growing as he finally had had enough, standing up as he grabbed his books and turned around, walking out of the study room.

He knew if he stayed in there any longer he would have just taken his anger out on someone else and he didn't want to do that. He just needed some time to cool down and be able to think without everyone in the group watching his every move.

"Jeff, hey wait up." Annie's voice called out as he inhaled sharply, willing her to go away as he didn't want to yell at her but before he could move she quickly ran and caught up with him, walking in front of him as she turned around to face him.

"What Annie?" Jeff asked, stopping in his tracks as he pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out an deep breath.

"Are you okay? I mean, you were really mean in there, is everything alright?" She asked in concern as she looked at him with her wide eyes, irritating him even more and before he could stop himself the words were pouring out of his mouth.

"Me? Oh I'm fine, great even. How about you? I mean you're never late, what it's okay for you to be now because you're too busy making out with McDreamy?" Jeff sneered, watching the look of concern on her face quickly change to one of anger.

"Okay first off you have absolutely no right lecturing me on being late seeing as you're late every single day. Secondly is that what this is about? Look I'm sorry for not telling you about Rich but I didn't think you'd be this angry. I know you don't like him. . ." Annie began as Jeff leaned in close to her, their faces inches apart as he made sure she was looking him in the eyes.

"You're damn right I don't Annie. The guy is a grade A douche and has you too infatuated to see it. You keep doing this, dating these . . .these guys who aren't worth your time! I don't know what it is if you're just a magnet for losers or maybe it's the fact that you're just naïve. Either way I thought you were smarter than this Annie but apparently I was wrong." Jeff snapped as he saw Annie visibly flinch at his words, her eyes moist with tears.

"Jeff. . ." She began, her voice quavering slightly.

"Oh and this whole hurt act where you cry every time someone hurts your feelings? It's childish and really annoying Annie. You just need to grow up already, okay? Just. . .grow the hell up." Jeff finished before he leaned out, turning around as he stormed out of the library leaving Annie standing there alone, clutching her books tightly as she was on the verge of tears.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys, sorry it took so long to update, computer crashed so I will update as soon as I can but it might not be for awhile. **

**Please keep the reviews coming, I appreciate any feedback.**

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Jeff continued quickly walking away putting as much distance as he could between himself and the mess he'd created as he headed towards his next class.

As he neared the classroom he finally slowed down to a walk, his anger fading away as it was instantly replaced by guilt. He'd been such an ass to Annie, targeting the things that would hurt her the most just because he felt like crap seeing her with Rich. It wasn't right, taking his anger out on her like that. He was supposed to be her friend but it was getting hard for him to keep pretending things were normal between them when he cared about her as more than a friend. This . . . Rich . . . was irritating him so much because deep down he knew she belonged with a guy like him, someone who wouldn't hurt her like he continued to do. She deserved someone who was a better person than he was and as much as it pained him to admit it that person was Rich, even though he wished it could be him.

He wanted to be that better person for her but he couldn't . . .it would never happen. He just couldn't change enough for her as much as he tried, as much as he wanted to. It just . . .it wasn't possible for someone like him and so he'd have to just try to be her friend and support her even though it was killing him to see her with Rich.

Jeff neared the classroom door and walked inside, taking his seat as he let out a deep breath. He knew he had to go find her and apologize to her after class, he just needed the time to figure out what he was going to say, a reason for his behaviour that didn't involve him confessing his feelings for her.

It was going to be a long class . . .

Meanwhile. . .

Annie stood in the library, still clinging onto her books as she fought back the urge to cry. It wasn't the first time Jeff had been mean to her or yelled at her but this . . . this was different. She could hear the anger and . . . distain for her in his voice and it really, really hurt her. She knew he'd be upset about her dating Rich as he didn't like the guy but she didn't think he'd take it like this, attacking her personally. They were supposed to be friends but he sure as hell wasn't acting like one right now.

Sure their relationship had had its bumps along the way but she thought things were finally getting back to normal between them. That's what Jeff had wanted and so she'd finally managed to get to the same spot, with the two of them both content with them being just friends. Yet here he was acting like some jealous idiot, taking his anger out on her for dating Rich. It wasn't fair, it had taken her a long time to get over what had happened between them, to get over the hurt of Jeff pushing her aside and acting like their kissing hadn't meant anything. So why was he acting like this now if it hadn't? He had no right to be jealous, he was the one who'd insisted things remain the same and yet here he was acting like he had a say in who she dated, saying that they weren't good enough for her. Where the hell did he get off acting like he didn't want her one minute and then wanted her the next?

The berating over her dating Rich it showed that he did have feelings for her, otherwise he wouldn't be acting like this but she knew, she just _knew _the minute she'd call him on it he'd just give her the runaround again, refusing to actually answer the question about whether he wanted her or not. It was typical Jeff Winger thing to do and she thought. . .she thought he was better than this, that maybe somehow she'd finally managed to reach him but apparently he was the same selfish jerk he had always been. God, he was such an ass and she was so tired of trying to show everyone he wasn't, that he had changed but clearly he hadn't and maybe she should just stop trying.

"Annie?"

Annie turned around to see Britta and Shirley heading towards her as she managed to put on a small smile.

"Oh, hey you guys." She said as they stopped in front of her.

"How'd the talk with Jeff go? He finally stop being such a . . . Annie, what's wrong?" Britta asked in concern, seeing how upset she looked.

"Nothing, it's nothing. Everything's fine." Annie said with false enthusiasm but it clearly wasn't working, Shirley and Britta both seeing how miserable she looked.

"Uh uh, spill it girl. Whatever it was he said to you really upset you. You can tell us." Shirley encouraged as Annie let out a deep breath, reluctantly telling them what he'd said.

"Wait, he said what now?" Shirley demanded angrily.

"Annie you cannot let him talk to you like that, that jerk! That's it after class we're going to have a talk with him and find out what his problem is." Britta said firmly.

"No, you guys. . .look I don't want any trouble okay? I just want to forget about it." Annie said.

"That boy started trouble the minute he said those things to you. Don't worry Annie, we'll take care of this." Shirley said reassuringly as Annie smiled genuinely. It was nice knowing that they cared so much.

"Thanks you guys." She said as Britta nodded.

"You've got it. Come on, let's get to our feminist studies class where we can hear all about how men ruin everything." Britta said as Shirley linked arms with Annie, the three of them heading towards the exit.

"Oh wait, what about Abed?" Annie asked as she stopped walking momentarily as she shot a look over her shoulder.

"He said he had to grab something from his dorm room and he'd meet us there." Britta explained as Annie nodded her head and the three of them continued on.


End file.
